VIVEKA-C¶DšMANI
OR
CREST-JEWEL OF WISDOM
OF
®RŸ ®AMKARšCšRYA
TEXT IN DEVANšGARŸ
AND TRANSLATION BY
MOHINI M. CHATTERJI, F.T.S.
THE THEOSOPHICAL PUBLISHING HOUSE
Adyar, Chennai, India • Wheaton, IL, USA
©The Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar 1932
First Edition 1932
Second to Fifth Reprints 1947-83
Sixth Reprint 1995
Seventh Reprint 1999
ISBN 81-7059-252-6 (Hard Cover)
ISBN 81-7059-251-8 (Soft Cover)
Printed at the Vasanta Press
The Theosophical Society
Adyar, Chennai
600 020, India
PUBLISHERS’ NOTE
The Vivekac™dāmaŠi or Crest-Jewel of Wisdom forms one of the important original works of ®r… ®amkarācārya on Vedānta. Here he deals with the subject in a direct incisive way, different from the dialectic method which he had to adopt in writing his more famous Bh€syas or Commentaries.
This work was translated in the early days of the Theosophical Society by Mohini M. Chatterji, a theosophical worker who was deputed to help the then slender band of Theosophists in the West with some of the Eastern teachings. The English translation appeared in Vols. VII (1885-86) and IX (1887-88) of The Theosophist.
The Theosophical Publishing House
Adyar
CREST-JEWEL OF WISDOM
I prostrate myself before the true teacher—before him who is revealed by the conclusions of all systems of Vedantic philosophy, but is himself unknown, Govinda the supreme bliss. (1)
Among sentient creatures birth as a man is difficult of attainment, among human beings manhood, among men to be a Brahmana, among Brahmanas desire to follow the path of Vedic Dharma, and among those, learning. But the spiritual knowledge which discriminates between spirit and non-spirit, the practical realization of the merging of oneself in Brahmātman and final emancipation from the bonds of matter are unattainable except by the good karma of hundreds of crores of incarnations. (2)
These three, so difficult of attainment, are acquired only by the kindness of the (Devas) Gods1, humanity, desire for emancipation, and the guidance of (spiritually) Great Men. (3)
1 Favour of the Gods (Devas) is the previous karma of an individual.
Note: The fulfilment of the purpose of life can only be achieved by humanity working in co-operation with the Deva Kingdom on one side, who help the Evolution of Form, and the Rsis on the other, who help in the unfolding of Consciousness and with ‘Mumuksutva’ which is translated here as “desire for emancipation” from the wheel of births and deaths. A Master of the Wisdom has translated this word as ‘love’. It is less a desire and more the will to be one with God not to escape from weariness and suffering but because of deep ‘love’ for Him one may act with Him.—vide pages 52-66, At the Feet of the Master (Standard Edition).
One who, having with difficulty acquired a human incarnation and in that manhood a knowledge of the scriptures, through delusions does not labour for emancipation, is a suicide destroying himself in trying to attain illusive objects. (4)
Who is there on this earth with soul more dead than he who, having obtained a human incarnation and a male body, madly strives for the attainment of selfish objects? (5)
He may study the scriptures, propitiate the gods (by sacrifices), perform religious ceremonies, or offer devotion to the gods, yet he will not attain salvation even during the succession of a hundred Brahma-yugas, except by the knowledge of union with the spirit. (6)
The immortality attained through the acquisition of any objective condition (such as that of a god) is liable to end, as it is distinctly stated in the scriptures (śruti) that Karma is never the cause of emancipation. (7)
Therefore the wise man strives for his salvation, having renounced his desires for the enjoyment of external objects, and betakes himself to a true and great teacher and accepts his teaching with an unshaken soul. (8)
And by the practice of right discrimination attained by the path of Yoga he rescues the soul—the soul drowned in the sea of conditioned existence. (9)
After giving up all karma for the purpose of removing the bonds of conditioned existence, those wise men with resolute minds should endeavour to gain a knowledge of their own štman. (10)
Actions are for the purification of the heart, not for the attainment of the real substance. The substance can be attained by right discrimination, but not by any amount of Karma. (11)
A perception of the fact that the object seen is a rope will remove the fear and sorrow which result from the illusory idea that it is a serpent. (12)
The knowledge of an object is only gained by perception, by investigation, or by instruction, but not by bathing or giving of alms, or by a hundred retentions of the breath. (13)
The attainment of the object principally depends upon the qualification of him who desires to attain; all artifices and the contingencies arising from circumstances of time and place are merely accessories. (14)
Therefore he who desires to know the nature of his own ātman, after having reached a Guru who has got brahmajñāna and is of a kindly disposition, should proceed with his investigation. (15)
One who has a strong intellect, who is a learned man, and who has powers of comprehension, is a man qualified for such an investigation. (16)
He, only, is considered worthy to inquire into Spirit who is without attachment, without desire, having śama and the other qualifications and who is desirous of obtaining emancipation. (17)
For this purpose there exist four kinds of preparatory training, so say the wise; with them the attempt will be successful; without them unsuccessful. (18)
The first is reckoned to be the discrimination of the eternal and the transitory; then follows renunciation of the desire to enjoy the fruits of action here and hereafter. (19)
Thirdly, the six possession beginning with śama; and fourthly, aspiration for emancipation1. Brahman is true, the transitory world is a delusion; such is the form of the final conclusion which is said to be the discrimination between the transitory and the eternal. Renunciation of desire consists in giving up the pleasures of sight, hearing, etc. Also in giving up all pleasure derivable from all transitory objects of enjoyment from the physical body up to Brahmā, the creator, after repeatedly pondering over their defects and shortcomings. (20, 21, 22)
1 See note under verse 3.
The undisturbed concentration of mind upon the object of perception is called śama. Dama is said to be the confinement to their own proper sphere of organs of action and of sensual perceptions, after having turned them back from objects of sense. A condition not related to or depending on the external world is true uparati. (23, 24)
The endurance of all pain and sorrow without thought of retaliation, without dejection and without lamentation, is said to be titiksā. (25)
Fixed meditation upon the teachings of śāstra and guru with a belief in the same by means of which the object of thought is realized, is described as śraddhā. (26)
Constant fixing of the mind on the pure spirit is called samādhāna. But not amusing the mind by delusive worldly objects. (27)
Mumuksutva1 is the aspiration to be liberated by knowing one’s true self from all created bonds, beginning with the feeling of personality and ending with the identification of oneself with the physical body by ignorance. (28)
1 See note under verse 3. The same Master of the Wisdom has given a very simple and beautiful explanation of Sādhana Catustaya the fourfold qualifications in At the Feet of the Master.
Even should the qualifications enumerated be possessed in a low or moderate degree, still these qualifications will be strengthened and improved by absence of desire, by śama and the other qualities and the kindness of the teacher, and will bear fruit. (29)
In one in whom absence of desire and aspiration for emancipation are prominent, śama and the other qualifications will be productive of great results. (30)
When absence of desire and aspiration for emancipation are feeble, there will be but indications of śama and the other qualifications, as of water in a mirage. (31)
Among the instruments of emancipation, the supreme is devotion. Meditation upon the true form of the real Self is said to be devotion. (32)
Some say devotion is meditation on the nature of one’s ātman. He who possesses all these qualifications is one who is fit to know the true nature of ātman. (33)
Such a person must approach the guru through whom freedom from bondage is attainable; one who is wise, well versed in the scriptures, sinless, free from desire, knowing the nature of Brahman. (34)
One who has attained rest in spirit, like the flame which has attained rest when the fuel is consumed, and one whose kindness is not actuated by personal considerations, and who is anxious to befriend those that seek for help. (35)
Having obtained the guidance of such a preceptor through devotion, respectful demeanor and service,1 the object of one’s inquiry is to be addressed to him when he is not otherwise engaged. (36)
1 See Bhagavad-G…t€, IV. 34.
“Salutation to thee, O Lord, full of compassion, O friend of those who bend before thee. I have fallen into the ocean of birth and rebirth. Rescue me by thy never failing glance which rains the ambrosia of sincerity and mercy. (37)
“Protect from death him who is heated by the roaring wild fire of changing life so difficult to extinguish, him who is oppressed and buffeted by the blasts of misfortune, since no other refuge do I know. (38)
“The great and peaceful ones live regenerating the world like the coming of spring, and after having themselves crossed the ocean of embodied existence, help those who try to do the same thing, without personal motives. (39)
“This desire is spontaneous, since the natural tendency of great souls is to remove the suffering of others just as the ambrosia-rayed (moon) of itself cools the earth heated by the harsh rays of the sun. (40)
“O Lord, sprinkle me, heated as I am by the forest fire of birth and re-birth, gratify the ear with ambrosial words as they flow from the vessel of thy voice mingled with the essence of thy experience, of the pleasure afforded by brahmajñāna, sacred and cooling. Happy are they who come into thy sight, even for a moment, for (they become) fit recipients and are accepted (as pupils). (41)
“How shall I cross this ocean of birth and re-birth? What is my destiny, what means exist, O Lord, I know not. O Lord, kindly protect me, lighten the sorrows arising from birth and re-birth.” (42)
The great soul, beholding with eyes moistened with mercy the refuge-seeker who, heated by the forest fire of birth and re-birth, calls upon him thus, instantly bids him fear not. (43)
That wise one mercifully instructs in truth the pupil who comes to him desirous of emancipation, and practicing the right means for its attainment, tranquil-minded and possessed of śama. (44)
The Master said:
Fear not, wise man, there is no danger for thee; there exists a means for crossing the ocean of birth and re-birth—that by which Yogis have crossed. I shall point it out to thee. (45)
There is an effectual means for the destruction of birth and re-birth by which, crossing the ocean of changing life, thou wilt attain to supreme bliss. (46)
By a proper comprehension of the purport of the Vedānta is produced the excellent knowledge; by that the great misery of birth and re-birth is terminated. (47)
It is directly pointed out by the sayings of the Scriptures that śraddhā, bhakti, dhyāna and Yoga, are the causes which bring about emancipation. Whoever abides by these, attains emancipation from the bondage of incarnated existence. (48)
By reason of ignorance a connection between you who are Paramātman and that which is not ātman is brought about and hence this wheel of embodied existence. By the fire of wisdom arising from this discrimination the growth of ignorance is burnt up to its very roots. (49)
The Disciple said:
“O Lord, in mercy hear! I am proposing a question, and when I have heard the answer from your own mouth, I shall have accomplished my end. (50)
“What is bondage? Whence is its origin? How is it maintained? How is it removed? What is non-spirit? What is the supreme spirit? How can one discriminate between them?” (51)
The Master said:
Thou art happy, thou hast obtained thy end, by thee thy family has been sanctified, in as much as thou wishest to become Brahman by getting rid of the bondage of avidyā. (52)
Sons and others are capable of discharging a father’s debts; but no one except oneself can remove (his own) bondage. (53)
Others can remove the pain (caused by the weight of) burdens placed on the head, but the pain (that arises) from hunger and the like cannot be removed except by oneself. (54)
The sick man is seen to recover by the aid of medicine and proper diet; but not by acts performed by others. (55)
The nature of the one reality must be known by one’s own clear spiritual perception and not through a pandit (learned man); the form of the moon must be known through one’s own eye, how can it be known through (the medium of) others? (56)
Who but oneself (ātman) is capable of removing the bondage of avidyā, kāma and Karma (ignorance, passion and action) even in a thousand million of Kalpas? 1 (57)
1 One day of Brahmā, i.e. one period of cosmic activity.
Liberation cannot be achieved except by the direct perception of the identity of the individual with the universal self; neither by Yoga (physical training), nor by Sāmkhya (speculative philosophy), nor by the practice of religious ceremonies, nor by mere learning. (58)
The form and beauty of the lute (v…Šā) and skill in sounding its strings are for the entertainment of the people and not for the establishment of an empire (in the hearts of subjects through the good government of the king.) 1 (59)
1 To understand the purport of this śloka it must be remembered that the etymological derivation of the Sanskrit word for king (rājan) is from the root rāj to please. The king was the man who pleased his subjects most. A comparison of this derivation with that of the word “king” from cunan, to know, will bring out a striking difference between the old šryan and the Teutonic minds.
Good pronunciation, command of language, exegetical skill and learning, are for the delectation of the learned and not for (obtaining) liberation. (60)
If the supreme truth remains unknown, the study of scriptures is fruitless, even if the supreme truth is known the study of the scriptures is useless (the study of the letter alone is useless, the spirit must be sought out by intuition). (61)
In a labyrinth of words the mind is lost like a man in a thick forest, therefore with great efforts must be learned the truth about oneself from him who knows the truth. (62)
Of what use are the Vedas to him who has been bitten by the snake of ignorance? (Of what use are) scriptures, incantations, or any medicine except the medicine of supreme knowledge? (63)
Disease is never cured by (pronouncing) the name of medicine without taking it; liberation is not achieved by the (pronunciation of the) word Brahman without direct perception. (64)
Without dissolving the world of objects, without knowing spiritual truth, where is eternal liberation from mere external words having no result beyond their mere utterance? (65)
Without the conquest of enemies, without command of the treasure of a vast country, by the mere words “I am a king”, it is impossible to become one. (66)
Hidden treasure does not come out at (utterance of) the simple word “out”, but there must be trustworthy information, digging and removal of stones; similarly, the pure truth, itself transcending the operation of māyā (māyā here meaning the force of evolution) is not obtained without the instruction of the knowers of the supreme, together with reflection, meditation, and so forth, and not by illogical inferences. (67)
Therefore wise men should endeavour by (using) all efforts to free themselves from the bondage of conditioned existence just as (all efforts are made) for the cure of disease. (68)
The excellent question now proposed by thee should be asked by those desirous of liberation, like a sage aphorism it is in agreement with the scriptures, it is brief and full of deep import. (69)
Listen attentively, O wise man, to my answer, for by listening thou shalt truly be freed from the bondage of conditioned existence. (70)
The chief cause of liberation of the mind is said to be complete detachment of the mind from transitory objects; after that (the acquirement of) śama, dama, titiksā, and a thorough renunciation of all Karma (religious and other acts of the attainment of any personal desire). (71)
Then the wise student (should devote himself) daily without intermission to the study of the scriptures, to reflection and meditation on the truths therein contained; then (finally) having got rid of ignorance the wise man enjoys the bliss of NirvāŠa even while on this earth. (72)
The discrimination between spirit and non-spirit which it is now necessary for thee to understand is being related by me; listen carefully and realize it in thyself. (73)
The wise call this the gross body which is the combination of marrow, bone, fat, flesh, blood, chyle and semen and is made up of feet, breast, arms, back, head, limbs, and organs. It is the cause giving rise to ignorance and the delusion “I” and “my”. The subtle elements are ākāśa, air, fire, water and earth (the higher principles of these elements are to be understood here). (74, 75)
By mixture with one another they become the gross elements and causes of the gross body. Their functions are the production of the five senses and these are intended for the experience of their possessor. (76)
Those deluded ones who are bound to worldly objects by the bonds of strong desire, difficult to be broken, are forcibly carried along by the messenger, their own Karma, to heaven (svarga), earth and hell (naraka). (77)
Severally bound by the qualities of the five (senses) sound and the rest, five (creatures) meet with their death, namely the deer, elephant, moth, fish and black bee; 1 what then of man bound by all (the senses) jointly? (78)
1 It is said that music exercises a powerful fascinating effect on the deer. We are told that ancient Indian hunters used to take advantage of this fact and attract deer by playing soft music on the flute and thus lure animals to their death. The elephant is constantly surprised and killed by hunters while in a state of stupefaction caused by the pleasure the animal derives from rubbing its forehead against the pine tree. Sanskrit writers frequently mention this circumstance. The moth, fish and bee are respectively attracted by sight, taste and smell.
In point of virulence sensuous objects are more fatal than the poison of the black snake (Naja Tripudians); poison only kills one who imbibes it, but sensuous objects can kill (spiritually) even by their mere outward appearance (literally: by the mere sight of them). (79)
He who is free from the great bondage of desires, so difficult to avoid, is alone capable of liberation; not another, even though versed in the six systems of philosophy. (80)
Those only sentimentally desirous of liberation and only apparently free from passion, seeking to cross the ocean of conditioned existence, are seized by the shark of desire, being caught by the neck, forcibly dragged into the middle and drowned. (81)
He only who slays the shark of desire with the sword of supreme dispassion, reaches without obstacles the other side of the ocean of conditioned existence. (82)
The mind of him who treads the rugged path of sensuous objects becomes turbid, death awaits him at every step like a man who goes out on the first day of the month (according to the saying of the astrologers); 1 but whoever treads the right path under the instruction of a guru or a good man who looks after his spiritual welfare, will obtain by his own intuition the accomplishment of his object; know this to be truth. (83)
1 There is here a play on the word pratipada, which means both “the first step” and “the first day”.
If the desire for liberation exists in thee, sensuous objects must be left at a great distance as if they were poison, thou must constantly and fervently seek contentment as if it were ambrosia, also kindness, forgiveness, sincerity, tranquility and self-control. (84)
Whoever attends only to the feeding of his own body, doing no good to others and constantly avoids his own duty and not seeking liberation from the bondage caused by ignorance, kills himself. (85)
He who lives only to nourish his own body, is like one who crosses a river on an alligator thinking it to be a log of wood. (86)
For one desirous of liberation, desires pertaining to the body, etc., lead to the great death; he who is free from such desires is alone fit to gain liberation. (87)
Conquer the great death—desire for the (sake of) the body, wife, son, and so on. Having conquered it the ascetics (munis) enter the supreme abode of VisŠu (i.e. attain union with the Logos who resides in the bosom of Parabrahman). (88)
This gross body which we condemn is made up of skin, flesh, blood, nerves, fat, marrow and bones, and is filled with filth. (89)
This gross body, produced out of the five gross elements themselves produced by the quintupling process, through previous Karma, is the vehicle of earthly enjoyments. In the waking state of that body gross objects are perceived. (90)
The ego embodied in this through the external organs enjoys gross objects such as the various forms of chaplets of flowers, sandal-wood, woman and so forth. 1 Therefore it is conscious of the body in its waking state. (91)
1 Typical of all sensuous objects.
Know that this great body, on which depend all the external manifestations of the purusa2 (dweller in the city, embodied one), is like the house of the householder. (92)
2 This word is not to be understood here as the absolute self, but merely the embodied self. Purusa literally means the dweller in the city, that is in the body. It is derived from pura which means the city or body, and usa a derivative of the verb vas to dwell.
The products of the gross (body) are birth, decrepitude, and death. Its stages of development are childhood1 and the rest. To the body, subject to diseases, belong the innumerable regulations concerning caste and condition, 2 as do also honour, disgrace, adulation and the like. (93)
1 According to the Hindus the body passes through six stages—birth, existence, growth, change, decline and death.
2 There are four conditions of life: brahmacarya, houseless celibacy; gārhasthya, a family life as a householder; vānaprastha, religious life in the forest; and bhaiksya, mendicancy. Hindu legislations have prescribed rules applicable to persons in each of these conditions.
Intellect, hearing, touch, sight, smell and taste (are called) senses by reason of their conveying perception of gross objects. Speech, hands, feet, etc., are called organs of action because through them acts are performed. (94)
The manas, buddhi, ahamkrti and citta, with their functions are called the internal instruments. Manas is (so called) by reason of (its) postulating and doubting; buddhi by reason of (its) property of (arriving at a) fixed judgment about objects; ahamkrti arises from egotism, and citta, is so-called on account of its property of concentrating the mind on one’s own interest. (95, 96)
Vitality (prāŠa), by the difference of its functions and modifications becomes like gold, water 1 and so on, prāŠa, apāna, vyāna, udāna and samāna. (97)
1 As gold is transformed by modification of form into bracelets, earrings, etc.; and water, by change of function, becomes steam or ice or modifies its form according to the vessel in which it is contained, so vitality receives different forms in accordance with the different functions it assumes.
The five (faculties) beginning with speech, the five (organs) beginning with the ear, the five (vital airs) beginning with prāŠa, the five (elements) beginning with ākāśa, buddhi (intellect) and the rest, avidyā (ignorance) whence kāma (desire) and Karma (action) constitute a body called s™ksma (subtle) body. (98)
Listen! This body produced from five subtle elements is called s™ksma as also li‰ga (characteristic) śar…ra; it is the field of desires, it experiences the consequences of Karma (prior experience); it (with the k€rana śar…ra added) being ignorant, has no beginning, and is the up€dhi (vehicle) of ātman. (99)
The characteristic condition of this body is the dreamy state; this state is distinguished from the waking state by the peculiar manner in which its senses work; in the dreamy state mind itself revives the condition created by the desires of the waking state. (100)
This body having attained the condition of the actor manifests itself. In it shines the absolute self (seventh principle) which has as its vehicle intellect (higher fifth principle) and which is unaffected by any Karma as if an independent witness. Because it (seventh principle) is free from all union, it is unaffected by the action of any up€dhi. (101)
This li‰ga śar…ra performs all actions as the instrument of ātman just as the chisel and other tools (perform the actions) of the carpenter; for this reason the ātman is free from all union. (102)
The properties of blindness, weakness and adaptability exist on account of the good or bad condition of the eye; similarly deafness, dumbness and so on are properties of the ear and are not to be considered as belonging to the self. (103)
In-breathing, out-breathing, yawning, sneezing and so forth are actions of prāŠa and the rest, say the wise men; the property of vitality is manifested in hunger and thirst. (104)
The internal organ is in communication with the path of the eye and the rest, and by reason of the specialising (of the whole) the ego 1 (ahamk€ra) is manifested. (105)
1 The corporeal eye by itself is incapable of seeing, otherwise it would not cease to see at the death of the body. In reality the eye sees by reason of its connection with the self through the egotism (ahamk€ra) by the concept or object which may be described as “I am the seer”. That this object is different from the egotism itself is clear from the fact that there exist other objects of a similar nature strung together or connected by the egotism such as “I am the hearer,” etc.; here it is plain that the above-mentioned concepts are none of them the egotism itself, for the disappearance of the concept “I am the seer” does not involve the disappearance of the egotism which manifests through other similar concepts.
This ego which is the subject of enjoyment and experience is to be known as ahamk€ra. It attains three conditions by association with the qualities, 2 sattva, and the rest. (106)
2 The qualities are sattva or pleasure and goodness, rajas pain and passional activity, tamas indifference or dullness. In association with these qualities, forming the three classes into which objects are divided the egotism attains its three conditions. The excess of sattva produces super-human conditions, excess of rajas human and excess of tamas sub-human existence.
By the agreeableness of objects it becomes happy and by the contrary unhappy; happiness and unhappiness are its properties and not of ātman which is the eternal bliss. (107)
Objects become dear not in themselves but by reason of their usefulness to the self because the self is the most beloved of all. (108)
Therefore the ātman is the eternal bliss, for it there is no pain. The bliss of the ātman, dissociated from all objects which is experienced in dreamless slumber, is during waking perceived by direct cognition, 1 by instruction and by inference. (109)
1 Which practical psychology or occultism gives.
The supreme māyā out of which all this universe is born, which is Parameśaśakti (the power of the supreme Lord) called avyakta (unmanifested) and which is the beginningless avidyā (ignorance) having the three guŠas (qualities), is to be inferred through its effects by (our) intelligence. (110)
This māyā is neither noumenal nor phenomenal nor is it essentially both; it is neither differentiated nor is it undifferentiated nor is it essentially both; it is neither particled nor is it unparticled nor is it essentially both; it is of the most wonderful and indescribable form. (111)
Its effects can be destroyed by the realization of the non-dual Brahman, as the illusion of the serpent in the rope is destroyed by the realization of the rope. The qualities of it are called rajas, tamas, and sattva and these are known by their effects. (112)
The power of rajas is extension (viksepa), which is the essence of action and from which the pre-existing tendencies to action were produced, and the modifications of the mind known, as attachment and other qualities productive of sorrow are always produced by it. (113)
Lust and anger, greed, arrogance, malice, aversion, personality, jealousy and envy are the terrible properties of rajas; therefore by this quality is produced inclination to action, for this reason rajas is the cause of bondage. (114)
The power of tamas is called is called āvriti (enveloping) by the force of which one thing appears as another; it is this force which is the ultimate cause of the conditioned existence of the ego and the exciting cause for the operation of the force of extension (viksepa). (115)
Even though intelligent, learned, skilful, extremely keen-sighted in self-examination and properly instructed in various ways, one cannot exercise discrimination, if enveloped by tamas; but, on account of ignorance, one considers as real that which arises out of error, and depends upon the properties of objects produced by error. Alas! for him! great is the enveloping power of tamas and irrepressible! (116)
Absence of right perception, contradictory thinking, thinking of possibilities, taking unsubstantial things for substance, belonging to rajas. One associated with rajas is perpetually carried away by its expansive power. (117)
Ignorance, laziness, dullness, sleep, delusion, folly and others are the qualities of tamas. One possessed by these perceives nothing correctly but remains as if asleep or like a post. (118)
Pure sattva, even though mixed with these two, in the same way as one kind of water mixes with another, 1 becomes the means of salvation; (for) the reflection of the absolute self (supreme spirit), received by sattva, sunlike manifests the universe of objects. (119)
1 i.e., indistinguishably.
The properties of mixed sattva, are self-respect, self-regulation, self-control and the rest, reverence, regard, desire for liberation, godlike attributes and abstinence from evil. (120)
The properties of pure sattva are purity, perception of the ātman within us, supreme tranquility, a sense of contentment, cheerfulness, concentration of mind upon the self by which a taste of eternal bliss is obtained. (121)
The unmanifested (avyaktam) indicated by these three qualities is the (cause of) kāraŠa śar…ra (causal body) of the ego. The state of its manifestation is dreamless slumber, in which the functions of all organs and of the buddhi are latent. (122)
Dreamless slumber is that state in which all consciousness is at rest, and intellect (buddhi) remains in a latent state; it is known as a state in which there is no knowledge. (123)
The body, organs, vitality, mind (manas), ego and the rest, all differentiations, the objects of sense, enjoyment and the rest, ākāśa and other elements composing this endless universe, including the avyaktam (unmanifested) are the not-spirit. (124)
Māyā, all the functions of māyā—from mahat 1 to the body—know to be asat (prakriti or the unreal objectivity) like the mirage of the desert by reason of their being the non-ego. (125)
1 Buddhi, the first manifestation of prakriti.
Now I shall tell you the essential form (svar™pa) of the supreme spirit (Paramātman), knowing which, man freed from bondage attains isolation (reality of being). (126)
An eternal somewhat, upon which the conviction relating to the ego rests, exists as itself, being different from the five sheaths and the witness of the three conditions. (127)
Who during waking, dreaming, and dreamless slumber knows the mind and its functions which are goodness and its absence—this is the ego. (128)
Who by himself sees (cognizes) everything, who is not seen by anyone, who vitalizes buddhi and the others and who is not vitalized by them—this is the ātman. (129)
The ātman is that by which this universe is pervaded, which nothing pervades, which causes all things to shine, but which all things cannot make to shine. (130)
By reason of its proximity alone the body, the organs, manas and buddhi, apply themselves to their proper objects as if applied (by some one else). (131)
By it having the form of eternal consciousness all objects from ahamkāra to the body and pleasure and the rest are perceived as a jar (is perceived by us). (132)
This purusa, the essential ātman 1 is primeval, perpetual, unconditioned, absolute happiness, eternally having the same form and being knowledge itself—impelled by whom speech (vāk) and the vital airs move, (133)
1 Because it is manifested as itself in the Unmanifested universe.
This unmanifested spiritual consciousness begins to manifest like the dawn in the pure heart, and shining like the midday sun in the “cave of wisdom” 1 illuminating whole universe. (134)
1 i.e., the agnicakra, See “Places of Pilgrimage in India” quoted on pp. 78-91 of the Esoteric Writings of T. Subba Row (Second Edition).
The knower of the modifications (operations) 2 of the manas and ahamkrti, of the actions performed by the body, organs and vitality present in them, as the fire is present in the iron, (heated by fire) does not act nor modify (in the same sense as the above), nor follow (their actions). (135)
2 viz., vitality, the organs, etc.
That eternal is not born, does not die, or grow or decay or modify, is not itself dissolved by the dissolution of this body, as space (is not dissolved) by the dissolution of the jar. (136)
The supreme spirit (Paramātman), different from prakriti and its modifications, having for its essential characteristic pure consciousness is unparticled, manifests this infinity of reality and unreality—the underlying essence of the notion “I”, “I”—manifests 1 itself in the conditions, waking and the rest, as the witness (or subject) of buddhi. (137)
1 The original word is vilasati, plays. I am compelled to sacrifice in the translation, the suggestion in the original as to the absence of want and therefore of a motive for action in the absolute ego.
O disciple, with mind under control, directly perceive this, the ātman in thyself as—“this I am”—through the tranquility of buddhi cross the shoreless sea of changeful existence, whose billows are birth and death, and accomplish thy end, resting firmly in the form of Brahman. (138)
Bondage is the conviction 1 of the “I” as being related to the non-ego; from the ignorance (or error) 2 arising out of this springs forth the same cause of the birth, death, and suffering of the individual so conditioned. And it is from this (error) alone that (he) nourishes, anoints and preserves this body mistaking the unreal for the real and gets enveloped in objects of sense in the same way as a cocoon maker (larva) gets enveloped in its own secretion. (139)
1 The original word is mati which is a synonym for buddhi. Bondage therefore is that condition or modification of buddhi in which it takes the form of the error mentioned in the text. Starting from this initial modification buddhi secretes, larva-like, the world of objects which it reflects upon the ātman and produces its bondage or illusive conditions. Ātman is eternally pure and unconditioned, but through its erroneous identification with buddhi, secreting the illusion of objects, it becomes bound, that is to say, the modifications of buddhi become ascribable to it.
2 The words avidyā and ajñāna are usually rendered “ignorance”; but it is necessary to state that in this connection the word ‘ignorance’ has a meaning slightly different from the usual one. It does not mean negation of knowledge but is a positive concept as we said before. Perhaps error is a better rendering. The negative particle a in these words does not imply the negation of the term it qualifies but its antithesis. Thus akarma=evil act, akhyāti=ill-fame, etc.
O friend listen! The notion of ego in one deluded by tamas becomes strengthened in this (asat). From such absence of discrimination springs forth the notion 1 of rope in the snake. From this a mass of great suffering befalls the entertainer of such a notion. Therefore the acceptance of asat as the “I” is bondage. 2 (140)
1 The original word is dhisaŠā. It signifies that subconscious activity which goes on during the vivid cognition of any particular state of consciousness and becomes realized in the succeeding state. Thus the dhisaŠā of waking consciousness becomes real and objective in dream-life. See ®amkara’s commentary on the opening stanza of Gaudapāda’s kārīkā on the MāŠd™kya Upanisad.
2 In other words bondage is the condition in which the notion of I has any content which is objective, in the largest sense of the word. But as there are grades of liberation this definition of bondage is to be taken as the absolute limit.
The enveloping power of tamas completely enshrouds this ātman, having infinite powers (vibhava), manifested by the indivisible, eternal, non-dual power of knowledge, as rāhu (the shadow of the moon) enshrouds the sun’s orb. (141)
On the disappearance from the ātman of an individual’s knowledge of identity with it—a knowledge which possesses supremely stainless radiance,—the individual in delusion imagines this body which is not-self to be the Self. Then the great power of rajas called vikshhepa (extension) gives great pain to this individual by the ropes of bondage (such as) lust, anger, etc. (142)
This man of perverted intellect, being deprived of the real knowledge of the ātman through being devoured by the shark of great delusion, is subject to conditioned existence on account of this expansive energy (vikshhepa). Hence he, contemptible in conduct, rises and falls in this ocean of conditioned existence, full of poison. (143)
As clouds produced (i.e. rendered visible) by the rays of the sun manifest themselves by hiding the sun, so egotism arising through connection with the ātman manifests itself by hiding the real character of the ātman (or ego). (144)
As on the unpropitious day when thick clouds devour the sun, sharp, cold blasts torment the clouds, so when the ego is without intermission enveloped by tamas the man with deluded buddhi is, by the intense expansive power (vikshhepa) goaded on by many sufferings. (145)
By these two powers is produced the bondage of the individual; deluded by these two he thinks the body to be the ātman. (146)
Of the tree of conditioned life truly the seed is tamas, the sprout is the conviction that the body is the ego, attachment is the leaf, Karma truly is the sap, the body is the trunk, the vital airs are the branches of which the tops are the organs, the flowers the objects (of the organs), the fruit the variety of sufferings from manifold Karma, and jīva 1 is the bird that feeds. (147)
1 Individual ego.
The bondage of non-ego, rooted in ignorance, produces the torrent of all birth, death, sickness, old age and other evils of this (the jīva), which is in its own nature manifest without beginning or end. (148)
This bondage is incapable of being severed by weapons of offence or defence, by wind, or by fire or by tens of millions of acts, 2 but only by the great sword of discriminative knowledge, sharp and shining, through the favour of Yoga. 3 (149)
2 Religious sacrifices, etc.
3 Dhātuh is used in this sense in several Upanishads also.
For a man having his mind fixed upon the conclusions of the Vedas (there is) the application to the duties prescribed for him; from such applications comes the self-purification of the jīva. In the purified buddhi is the knowledge of the supreme ego and from that is the extinction of conditioned life down to its roots. (150)
As the water in the tank covered by a collection of moss does not show itself, so the ātman enveloped by the five sheaths, produced by its own power and beginning with the annamaya, does not manifest itself. (151)
Upon the removal of the moss is seen the pure water capable of allaying heat and thirst, and of immediately yielding great enjoyment to man. (152)
When the five sheaths are removed the pure pratyagātman (the Logos), the eternal happiness, all-pervading, the supreme self-generated light shines forth. (153)
A wise man must acquire the discrimination of spirit and not-spirit; as only by realizing the self which is absolute being, consciousness and bliss, he himself becomes bliss. (154)
Whoever, having discriminated the pratyagātman that is without attachment or action, from the category of objects, as the reed is discriminated from the tiger-grass, and having merged everything in that, finds rest by knowing that to be the true self, he is emancipated. 1 (155)
1 i.e., By recognition of the pratyagātman (Logos) as the individuality in man.
This food-produced body, which lives through food and perishes without it, and is a mass of skin, epidermis, flesh, blood, bone, and filth, is the annamaya sheath; it cannot be regarded as the self which is eternal and pure. (156)
This (ātman) was before birth and death and is now: how can it, the true self, the knower of condition 1 and modification, be ephemeral, changeable, differentiated, a mere vehicle of consciousness? (157)
1 The original word bhāva would perhaps be better explained as the stable basis of modifications.
The body is possessed of hands, feet, and the rest; not so the true self which, though without limbs, by reason of its being the vivifying principle and the indestructibility of its various powers, is the controller and not the controlled. (158)
The true self being the witness of the body and its properties, its actions and its conditions, it is self-evident that none of these can be a characteristic mark of the ātman. (159)
Full of misery, covered with flesh, full of filth, full of sin, how can it be the knower? The ego is different from this. (160)
The deluded man considers the ego to be the mass of skin, flesh, fat, bones and filth. The man of discrimination knows the essential form of self, which is the supreme truth, to be without these as characteristic marks. (161)
“I am the body”—such is the opinion of a deluded man; of the learned the notions of I is in relation to the body, as well as to the jīva (monad). Of the great soul possessed of discrimination and direct perception, “I am Brahman”, such is the conviction with regard to the eternal self. (162)
O you of deluded judgment, abandon the opinion that the ego consists in the mass of skin, flesh, fat, bone, and filth; know that the real self is the all-pervading, changeless ātman and so obtain peace. (163)
As long as the wise man does not abandon the notion that the ego consists of the body, organs and the rest, the product of illusion, so long there is no prospect of his salvation, even though he be acquainted with the Vedas and their metaphysical meaning. (164)
As one’s idea of I is never based on the shadow or reflection of the body, or the body seen in dream or imagined by the mind, thus also may it be with the living body. (165)
Because the false conviction that the ego is merely the body, is the seed producing pain in the form of birth and the rest, efforts must be made to abandon that idea; the attraction towards material existence will then cease to exist. (166)
Conditioned by the five organs of action this vitality becomes the prāŠamaya sheath through which the embodied ego performs all the actions of the material body. (167)
The prāŠamaya, being the modification of life-breath and the comer and goer, in and out, like air-currents, is also not the ātman, because it cannot by itself discriminate between good and evil, or the real self and another, it is always dependent on another (the self). (168)
The organs of sensation together with the manas form the manomaya sheath which is the cause (hetu) of the differentiation between “I” and “mine”; it is the result of ignorance, it fills the former sheath and it manifests its great power by distinguishing objects by names, etc. (169)
The fire of the manomaya sheath, fed with objects as if with streams of melted butter by the five senses like five Hotris 1, and blazing with the fuel of manifold desires, burns this body, made of five elements. (170)
1 Priests offering oblations to the fire.
There is no avidyā besides the manas. Manas itself is the avidyā, the instrument for the production of the bondage of conditioned existence. When that (avidyā) is destroyed, all is destroyed, and when that is manifested, all is manifested. 2 (171)
2 Manas being the organ of doubt or the production of multiplicity of concepts in relation to one and the same objective reality, is here taken to be the same as avidyā. The buddhi determines these manas-born concepts as real and through the ahamkāra specializes them by an association with the true ego. Thus is the world of illusions produced. It will now be seen that if the manas attains tranquillity, the world of illusions is destroyed. For then the buddhi having no hypothetical concepts with regard to the one objective reality to deal with, reflects the reality and the ahamkāra is destroyed by the destruction of its limitations and becomes merged in the absolute Self.
In dream, when there is no substantial reality, one enters a world of enjoyment by the power of the manas. So it is in waking life, without any difference, all this is manifestation of the manas. 1 (172)
1 See Mr. Keightley’s Synopsis of Du Prel’s “Philosophik der Mystik”, Theosophist, vol. VI, for the psychology of dreams; and Dreams by C. W. Leadbeater.
All know that when the manas is merged in the state of dreamless slumber nothing remains. Hence the contents of our consciousness are created by the manas and have no real existence. (173)
Cloud collects by the wind 2 and is again dispersed by the wind; bondage is created by the manas, and emancipation is also produced by it. (174)
2 The word translated wind includes the atmosphere, together with its moisture and currents.
Having produced attachment to the body and all other objects, it thus binds the individual as an animal is bound by a rope, afterwards having produced aversion to these as if a poison, that manas itself frees him from bondage. (175)
Therefore the manas is the cause of the bondage of this individual and also of its liberation. The manas when stained by passion is the cause of bondage, and of liberation when pure, devoid of passion and ignorance. (176)
When discrimination and dispassion predominate, the manas having attained purity becomes fit for liberation, therefore these two (attributes) of a man desirous of liberation and possessed of buddhi, must at the outset be strengthened. (177)
In the forest land of objects wanders the great tiger named manas; pure men desirous of liberation do not go there. (178)
The manas, through the gross body and the subtle body of the enjoyer, creates objects of desire and perpetually produces differences of body, caste, colour, and condition, all results of the action of the qualities. (179)
The manas, having clouded over the absolute consciousness which is without attachment, acquires notions of “I” and “mine”, and through attachment to the body, organs, and life, wanders ceaselessly in the enjoyment of the fruit of his actions. (180)
By ascribing the qualities of the ātman to that which is not ātman is created (the series of incarnations). This ascription is produced by the manas which is the primary cause of birth, suffering, etc. in a man devoid of discrimination and tainted by rajas and tamas. (181)
Therefore learned men who have seen the truth call the manas, avidyā, by which the universe is made to wander as the clouds are by the wind. (182)
For this reason pains should be taken by one desirous of liberation to purify the manas. It being purified, liberation is at hand. (183)
Through the sole desire for liberation, having rooted out attachment to objects and renounced personal interest in action, with reverential purity, he who is devoted to study (śravaŠa) and the rest, shakes off mental passion. (184)
Even the manomaya (sheath) is not the supreme ego on account of its having beginning and end, its modifiable nature, its pain-giving characteristics, and by reason of its being objective. The seer (or subject) is not seen by that which is itself seen (or objective). (185)
The buddhi with its functions and combined with the organs of sensation 1 becomes the vijñānamaya sheath whose characteristic is action and which is the cause of the revolution of births and deaths. (186)
1 It will be seen that the organs of sensation enter also into the composition of the manomaya sheath which generates the notion of (manifold) possibilities with regard to objects of sensation. The vijñānamaya sheath determines those possibilities by associating one of them with the egotism by the sense of agency. To take an illustration, I see something, it may be a post or it may be a man, so far we have only the manomaya sheath to deal with. Then when the vijñānamaya comes into play, one out of these possibilities is associated with ahamkāra by the sense of agency, and we obtain, let us say, this proposition—I know I see a post. This will throw some light upon the double functions of the organs of sensation analysed in the text.
The modification of prakriti called vijñānamaya sheath, follows after the individuality (sheath) which reflects the ātman and is possessed of the faculties of cognition and action, and its function is to specialize the body, organs and the rest as the ego. (187)
This (ego) having no beginning in time is the jīva or embodied ego. It is the guide of all actions, and governed by previous desires, produces actions, righteous and unrighteous, and their consequences. (188)
It gathers experience by wandering through various grades of incarnation 1 and comes below and goes above. 2 It is to this vijñānamaya that belongs the experiences of the pleasure and pain pertaining to waking, dreaming and the other conditions. (189)
1 Such as animal, human, etc.
2 Objective and subjective conditions.
Pre-eminently characterized by the closest proximity to the Paramātman, this vijñānamaya becomes its objective basis. It produces the difference between “I” and “mine” and all actions pertaining to different stages of life and condition, and through ignorance it passes with the spiritual intelligence from one existence to another. (190)
This vijñānamaya, reflecting the Light of the Logos, is manifested in the vital breaths (subtle currents of the s™kshhma sarīra) and in the heart. 1 This ātman being encased in this upādhi, appears to be the actor and enjoyer. (191)
1 The seat of abstract thought.
The ātman, being limited by mind, appears different (from other objects) through the illusive nature (of mind), just as the water-jar and the rest (appear different) from the earth. (192)
Paramātman by reason of connection with an objective basis, appears to partake of the attributes (of this upādhi) just as the formless fire seems to partake of the form of the iron (in which it inheres). The ātman is, by its very nature, essentially unchangeable. (193)
The Disciple said:
Whether through ignorance or any other cause, the ātman invariably appears as jīva (higher portion of fifth principle); this upādhi, having no beginning, its end cannot be imagined. (194)
Hence the connection of the ātman with jīva does not seem to be terminable, and its conditioned life appears to be eternal, then tell me, O blessed Master, how there can be liberation? (195)
The blessed teacher said:
O wise man, you have asked rightly. Now, listen carefully. The illusive fancies arising from error are not conclusive. (196)
Without error truly the ātman, the independent and non-acting, cannot be connected with objects, just as blue colour is attributed to the sky (on account of our limited vision). (197)
The seer of the self (higher self), being without action, without attributes, all-pervading, is knowledge and bliss. Through the error (caused by) mind it appears conditioned (connected with jīva), but this is not so. When this error is dispelled, it no longer exists, hence it is unreal by nature. (198)
As long as there is this error, so long this (connection with jīva) created by false knowledge, exists; just as the illusion, produced by error, that the rope is the snake, lasts only during the period of error—on the destruction of error no snake remains—it is even so. (199)
Ignorance has no beginning, and this also applies to its effects; but upon the production of knowledge, ignorance, although without beginning, is entirely destroyed as is everything of dream life upon awakening. Even though without beginning this is not eternal, being clearly analogous to prāgabhāva. 1 (200, 201)
1 Antecedent non-existence. Cf. Nyāya philosophy for explanation of this term; e.g. the state of a pot before manufacture is one of antecedent non-existence.
The connection of the ātman with jīva; created through its basis, mind, though having no beginning, is thus seen to have an end. Hence this connection does not exist, and the ātman is entirely different from the jīva in nature and attributes. The connection between ātman and buddhi is established through false knowledge. (202, 203)
This connection can only be terminated by true knowledge—it cannot be otherwise. The knowledge that Brahman (the supreme spirit) and ātman are one and the same is true knowledge and according to the Vedas. (204)
This knowledge can only be acquired by the perfect discrimination of ego and non-ego; therefore discrimination is to be practised in relation to individual and universal spirit. (205)
As the most muddy water appears pure water on the removal of the mud, even so the ātman shines clearly when it is removed from unreality. Therefore the ātman should be separated from all that pertains to the false self. (206, 207)
Hence the supreme spirit is not that which is called the vijñānamaya. By reason of its changeable, detached character and limited consciousness, as well as on account of its objectivity and liability to error, it (the vijñānamaya sheath) cannot be regarded as eternal. (208)
Ānandamaya sheath is the reflection of the absolute bliss, yet not free from ignorance. Its attributes are pleasure and the like, through it the higher affections are realised (e.g. in svarga). This sheath, whose existence depends upon virtuous action, becomes manifest as ānandamaya without effort (that is, as the necessary result of a good life) in a virtuous man enjoying the fruits of his own merit. (209)
The principal manifestation of the ānandamaya sheath is in dreamless slumber. In the waking and dreaming states it becomes partially manifested at the sight of pleasant objects. (210)
Nor is this ānandamaya the supreme spirit, because it is subject to conditions. It is a modification of prakriti, an effect, and the sum of all the consequences of good acts. (211)
According to the Vedas the ātman is what remains after the subtraction of the five sheaths. It is the witness, it is absolute knowledge. (212)
This ātman is self-illumined and different from the five sheaths; it is the witness of the three states (waking, dreaming and dreamless sleep); it is stainless, and unchanging, it is eternal bliss and thus it must be realized by the learned BrāhmaŠa. (213)
The Disciple said:
When the five sheaths are subtracted on account of their unreality, I do not see, O Master, that anything remains but universal negation. What, then, remains to be known by the learned BrāhmaŠa, as ego and non-ago? (214)
The Blessed teacher said:
O wise man, thou hast spoken well, thou art skilful in discrimination, ātman is that which is void of all changeful things, such as egotism, etc. (215)
That by which everything is known, that which is not known by anything—through the subtle intellect, realize that knower to be the ātman. (216)
Whoever knows anything is the witness thereof. With regard to an object not perceived by anyone, the characteristic of being the witness can be rightly postulated of none. (217)
The ātman is itself the witnessing essence, for by itself it is perceived. Therefore this ātman is itself the witness and not another. (218)
The manifestation of this ātman is identical in the states of waking, dreaming and dreamless slumber; it is the one inward manifestation of self-consciousness in all egos; and is the witness of all forms and changes, such as egotism, intellect, etc. and manifests itself as absolute consciousness and bliss. This, realize as ātman in your own heart. (219)
The fool, having seen the image of the sun in the water of the jar, thinks it is the sun. So an ignorant man seeing the reflection of the Logos in any of the upādhis (vehicles) takes it to be the real self. (220)
As the wise man looks at the sun itself and not the jar, the water, or the reflection; so also the wise man looks towards the self-illumined ātman through which the three (upādhis) are manifested. (221)
Thus it is that the individual, abandoning the body, the intellect and the reflection of consciousness, becomes sinless, passionless and deathless by knowing the self-illumined ātman, which is the seer, which is itself the eternal knowledge, different from reality as well as unreality, eternal, all pervading, supremely subtle, devoid of within and without, the only one, in the centre of wisdom. (222, 223)
The wise man who becomes Brahman by knowing it, is free from grief and filled with bliss. He fears nothing from anywhere. Without knowledge of the true self there is no other path open to those desirous of liberation for removing the bondage of conditioned life. (224)
The realization of the oneness of Brahman is the cause of liberation from conditioned existence, through which the only Brahman, which is bliss, is obtained by the wise. (225)
The wise man, becoming Brahman, does not return to conditioned existence; hence the unity of the self with Brahman must be thoroughly realized. (226)
Brahman is truth, knowledge and eternity, the supreme, pure, self-existing, uniform, unmixed bliss, always pre-eminent. (227)
By the absence of all existence besides itself this Brahman is truth, is supreme, the only one; when the supreme truth is fully realized nothing remains but this. (228)
By reason of ignorance this universe appears multiform, but in reality all this is Brahman, (which remains) when all defective mental states have been rejected. (229)
The water-pot which is the effect 1 of clay is yet not different from the clay, its essential nature always remaining clay. The form of the water-pot has no independent existence, but is only a name generated by illusion. 2 (230)